Had a great time at Maker Faire this year, so much so that I really want to get a MakerSpace into our district soon. I took my Lytro camera with me, snapping photos of those things that really spoke to me, and I will be writing my reflections based on these images, but will link to the product site with name of the product.

Overall, it was a great time. Most of the things that I saw that really felt applicable to students/children making was found in the main hall, not the education pavilion as those who put the show together had planned. Not sure why, but there seemed to be a great disconnect between the main group of makers and those in the education pavilion. Hopefully that can be better blended or adjusted for the future, as I feel it would really make this show more useful to all the teachers out there.

LittleBits (Lytro image)
The simple way of introducing circuits to kids. When I grew up, it was connecting wires to springs. When my brother was in elementary school, it was snapping circuits on a grid. Now, it’s all based in magnets. Simple and fun.

Popeze (Lytro image)
Ever had trouble helping kids make a pop-up card? Popeze makes it so simple with their clear sticky plastic pieces. I would love to have a few sheets of these for my students’ card and artistic creation time.